An airline passenger has claimed her Paris-Dublin flight was delayed for nearly two hours after Gérard Depardieu urinated on the plane before takeoff.

France's Europe-1 radio aired an interview with the passenger, identified only by her first name Daniele, in which she said that Depardieu appeared inebriated and announced: "I need to piss, I need to piss." She said when the cabin crew told him to remain seated during takeoff, "he stood up and did it on the ground".

Karen Gillo, a spokeswoman for City Jet, the Dublin-based airline that operated the Tuesday evening flight, confirmed that such an incident had taken place. But she said on Wednesday that privacy issues prevented her from naming the passenger, who was escorted off the plane along with his two travelling companions and their luggage.

Calls for comment from Depardieu's agent went unanswered.

Depardieu, 62, is one of France's most famous actors and has appeared in more than 150 films, including Jean de Florette and Cyrano de Bergerac, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

He is also a Paris restaurateur and the owner of a vineyard in Burgundy.